#rondo of swords

[theastralbard]

I'm not obsessed with cat-coded characters. It just so happens that some of my favorite characters of all time are Nepeta Leijon, Alhambra from Rondo of Swords, Siffrin from ISAT, Niko from OneShot, and Izutsumi from DunMesh. Total coincidence.

[manekinekocake]

[prickly-paprikash]

Annette in Rondo of Blood was literally nothing more than a damsel in distress who's whole purpose is to give Richter motivation to fight against Dracula. And to help him continue the bloodline.

In other versions, she's turned into a vampire and is obsessed with Richter.

I'm sorry, but I have two questions.

In any of these, is Annette being of pure white descent necessary? Is her being blonde and pale a defining part of her character? Is there anything, anything at all that demands Annette be a white woman in every single adaptation?

No.

She's just a plot and lore device. Be saved by Richter. Love Richter. Continue the Belmont line.

That's it for Game Annette.

In Nocturne?

She's a warrior who escaped bondage and burned her slavers to the ground. She communes with her ancestors who have long since passed. She feels grief. She mourns. She regrets. She knows, in her heart, that she was at fault for Edouard's demise the same way Richter knows his mom had a better chance of survival had he got on the ship. Rage flourishes in Annette. Love grows between Annette and Richter.

She hates. She weeps. She forgives.

Annette is a character made whole in Nocturne. It also adds so much to her for being a Black, Creole woman.

Richter and Annette are parallels with key differences. Both are haunted by their mothers' deaths. Both are warrior-mages who do battle up-close while using their magic as supplementary to their combat, whilst Maria and Tera focus more on magic and use sword-play as their supplementary skills. Both carry legacies too heavy to bear, yet they persevere.

Richter feels like he's trying to forget he's a Belmont. He is cut off from the magical world. Annette on the other hand continues to push herself to connect to the realm of her Ancestors and her gods. Annette burns with a righteous rage against the ruling class. Richter is consumed by his trauma and puts up an apathetic facade when we first meet him.

They are both made whole after their failure in the crypts. Annette kills her slaver. Richter connects with his grandfather.

They are both stubborn, flawed, dauntless warriors. Richter is arrogant. Annette is vengeful. Both of them manage to fail during separate assaults on the Abbey. Both grow and heal from these failures.

Those fuckers who hate Annette for being 'too different from the source material' are dweebs.

Because Annette in the game isn't even a character! Just a tool! A supporting face! That's all she is.

Nocturne takes many creative liberties that expand on the world.

Just say you hate Annette for being black. Be honest with your racism. It makes it easier for everyone to identify who's a mouthbreathing bigot.

[itstheval]

Vale Vs Mirabelle

A @livesworthlivingau Side Story

"H-Hey Vale?" Mirabelle. Short, cute, always reliable. You almost heard her say a sentence without stuttering once.

Okay, that wasn't fair, she's been strong for such a long time - and even more, now that she'd retrieved her medication from the House. She certainly seemed to be steeling herself for something, now that the Scholar had been satisfied and she was tending to your wounds.

"Yes, little Housemaiden?" You've learned the art of asking questions, by now. The exact lilt to your voice, the perfect degree of smile, all to make the question as annoying as possible. All to keep them as distanced from you as possible.

"What Madame said…I want to try it too." Of course. Mirabelle can't get more anxious, and she's learned to put steel in her spine despite it. "I didn't get to fight a lot when we were in the House, and I want to try it. That is…If you want to?"

Well, Stars. That's a face you couldn't say no to. It's not like Eclipse's face, all big bursts of laughter and exaggerated expressions that filled your spirit, but the Housemaiden's eager, gentle looks melted your heart. You don't think you could have denied her if you wanted to.

"Let me get a tonic in me…" You let out a sigh of the eternally put-upon, and wander back a few steps before Flare notices and rushes up. Their little arms were full of all kinds of Tonics, and they grinned up with pride. "I didn't know which one you need, so I brought all of 'em!"

How could you ever have abandoned these people? How could you ever think they'd hate you?

Later.

For now, you take the salty broth (Thank you, Flare, for labeling the bottles!) and chug it back, making a face at the sheer saltiness of it.

"Alright. Let's do this."

The Housemaiden almost looked ridiculous, standing there in all her frills and jingles, with a rapier for a weapon. If you hadn't seen her fight before, you'd absolutely underestimate her. Instead, your foot scuffs the dirt of the road slightly, and your whip snaps out-

"[And The Curtains Open…]" "[Brilliant Reflection Shield!]"

SERIOUSLY?!

You're laughing by the time you get up from your own attack hitting you. She used it now? On the first attack? "That was petty, Housemaiden!" You call out, refusing to let that pass, only to see a look of concentration and…Joy? On her face?

"We're just warming up, Vale!" With that she kicked off the ground, moving as easily in the frills of her dress as another warrior would in the lightest of armour. You try to snap your whip at her, to keep her at bay, but she twists and turns in place so all your whip catches is where she was a second before.

"[Jolly Round Rondo!]" The call comes, and even so close, you can't get yourself into a guarding position in time. As she twirls each of her hands leaves a line of Craft in the air, and then they come together to launch that line at you! Ergh, that took out more of you than you'd like to admit!

You jump backwards, a twist in midair helping you land on your feet as you bring your hands together for [Give Them A Show…], looking up at Mirabelle to see how close she's gotten, to discover she hasn't?

"[Pretty Buffy Friend!]" The call goes out, and the Universe answers, a feeling of another presence blessing her with strength. So, a war of the buffs, huh.

Fortunately, she seems to have decided to test your evasion, and that's one thing you can rely on! Motion after motion of her rapier pushes you back, forces you to twirl, an elegant dance of sword and body that you fall into almost easily. But…You wonder how long your evasion will last, compared to her strength. Either way, it's time to go on the offensive.

"[Special Performance!]" Your whip strikes out, and leaves an image of itself behind once…twice…three times, before the fourth time completes a diamond that tracks towards the Housemaiden.

"[Holy Care Shield!]" Oh come on, she has MORE of those?!

You sigh as you watch the attack bounce off of the wall of Craft, and purse your lips together. For all Eclipse was a Defender, she was proving more defensive than he ever was. You barely slip aside from a deep lunge that cuts right through where your chest would have been, and stagger for a hop before deciding on something that hasn't failed you yet.

"[That's A Wrap!]"

And your whip slips out, wrapping around the Housemaiden, holding her in place as she recovers from her lunge. You let out a sigh, and step towards her, before you see she's…giggling?

"Oh, c'mon, Vale, let me out!" She laughs it out, and you see the sparkles of a Super Sparkle Heal falling over her. "I can heal way faster than this can hurt me, and you know my Scissors attacks will cut right through it."

You take a moment to savor the puffing giggles from her, before letting your shoulders slump. "You're right, you're right. I yield. Did I even land a hit on you?"

"Not a one! I've been practicing!"

"Well practice less! That was annoying!"

"Pffehehehe!"

[kachikirby]

NEW SD GUNDAM GAIDEN WORK HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED

So, first is the little intro about this work. It's a new entry banner called SD Gundam Gaiden NEO. (The Knight Gundam series is separated into different banners that each series falls under. The previous one was New Testament SD Gundam Gaiden.)

The motif for this series is the 2022 Gundam series Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.

The title of this first entry is "The Forbidden Magic" and this first arc is "Shrine Maiden of the Dragon God".

I'll be translating stuff from the snippet on the P-Bandai page. (VPN needed to access it from outside Japan)

STORY

Many years ago, the Benerit Clan wiped out the Dragon Village. However, some villagers, mainly children, were able to flee into the deep forest. It has been said that mysterious magic since ancient times has been hidden there…

In the Benerit Clan, which destroyed the Dragon Village and built a city in the remaining wasteland, a struggle for supremacy was underway among the young chiefs of the three families. The control of that power spread to the surrounding area, and the people of the Dragon Village are once again discovered by the Benerit Clan.

Under orders from the head chief, Delling, the elites of the three families approached the silent forest…

CARD LIST

In numbered order: (1-01, 1-02, 1-03, and so on.)

Knight Gundam Lfrith VS Knight Beguir-Beu

Knight Gundam Lfrith

Knight Gundam Lfrith Jr.

Elder Cardo

Warrior Nadim

Summoner Elnora

Soldier Heingra

Knight Beguir-Beu

Magic Knight Aerial

Mage Suletta

Summoner Prospera

Spirit Spirit Geist

Spirit IceBurn

Sprit Ericht

Shrine Maiden Miorine

Warrior Demi Trainer

Hunter Demi Trainer

Hunter Keinanji

Hunter Chuchu

Blacksmith Nika

Shopkeeper Martin

Waitress Lilique, Aliya

Monster Goblin Kapell-Kuu

Monster Orc Clibarri

Monster Bear Azrawan

Monster Killer Hosler II

Soldier Demi Garrison

Warrior Dilanza

Fencer Heindree

Mage Zowort

Noble Knight Dilanza

Noble Knight Michaelis

Noble Knight Gundam Pharact

Monster Pharact Dragon

Noble Knight Guel

Noble Knight Shaddiq

Noble Knight Elan

Chief Delling

Shaman Nugen, Kal, Nevola, Golneri

Item - Shrine Maiden's Tomato

Revealed Individual Card Translations

Magic Knight Gundam Aerial

"Water, Fire, lend me your strength! Magic Sword Gunbit Rondo!"

Welder of the Magic Sword Escutcheon

Mage Suletta

"If you move forward you gain two, if you run you gain one...I-I'll protect you!"

Dragon Village Mage

Shrine Maiden Miorine

"I made this tomato. Eat this, and you'll definitely win!"

Shrine maiden who worships the dragon

Noble Knight Dilanza

"I'll correct the ignorance of these hicks!"

Unites the Warriors of the Benerit Clan's Jeturk Family

Noble Knight Guel

"I'll get the priestess, I'll get the chief's position, I'll get it all, I'll show you!"

Benerit Clan, Next Head of the Jeturk Family

Noble Knight Gundam Pharact

"I can expose your true form."

Unites the Mages of the Benerit Clan's Peil Family

Noble Knight Elan

"I'd like to hear more about you."

Benerit Clan, Next Head of the Peil Family

Noble Knight Michaelis

"The dragon's shrine maiden is still alive? This is getting interesting."

Unites the Fencers of the Benerit Clan's Grasley Family

Noble Knight Shaddiq

"If you're a survivor of that village, I won't leave you alone."

Benerit Clan, Next Head of the Grasley Family

Additional art

Current Thoughts

I hope these aren't the final card artwork because it looks a bit bland with the default silver background. The ones with gradient look a bit better, but they are nowhere near as the fully rendered backgrounds in New Testament or previous works.

They do not give a gender, but I feel like Aerial is male here and idk how to feel about it. The card list does mention Ericht separately as a spirit, so that kind of alleviates my concerns. I just don't know how to feel about it.

The first chapter is Shrine Maiden of the Dragon God, which likely refers to Mio.

One of the spirits is Spirit Geist, which is one of Roux's main summoned Spirits in Kikoushin Densetsu, which makes me think this is in the Dabat Kingdom, but at the same time, I'm not sure since we've yet to learn where and when in the SD Gundam Gaiden timeline this takes place in.

It would make sense to have a story that takes place in that kingdom's area, since Seikihei Monogatari is the only one whose yet to have a post-Saddrac Knight Saga era work connected to it.

[murasakinokuukyo]

So, I finally watched Revolutionary Girl Utena + Adolescence of Utena over the summer. Let's just say that this truly is a must watch series. If you like shojo, you're starting to get into shojo, or you haven't watched any shojo yet, I really recommend it.

I enjoyed most of the characters - not you Akio, you POS - with Anthy and Nanami being my favourites. They both happen to be younger sisters suffering from the manipulations of their older brothers. I did like Touga as well, though. Before I even watched Adolescence of Utena, Touga gave off the impression of an abused kid who's developed into an abuser themselves. His interactions with Akio makes it clear he's imitating the older man, as is the case for younger individuals to copy someone they see as a role model.

Nanami-centric episodes were the silliest, except for the one where she's gaslit by Touga to believe they were blood siblings and ends up staying with Utena, Anthy and Akio. The last arc was... augh, I kept yelling at the screen for everyone to stay away from Akio. Poor Utena and Anthy. Anthy herself was very interesting to me. You see her as someone who's painfully subservient in her role as the Rose Bride, but then there's the passive-aggressive comments and how she manipulated Mikage as Mamiya (granted, it was under the instruction of Akio). For all their silliness, a few of the Nanami-centric episodes also showed that Anthy is not one to be messed with.

My sibling showed me a Utenanthy edit with the song Good Luck, Babe by Chappell Roan, and it was so perfect. These girls deserve happiness together. Their dance in Adolescence of Utena was beautiful, and Rondo-Revolution playing as they escaped got me cheering for them. Actually, Rondo-Revolution is a great song in general; it's a love song that sounds heroic at the same time. I also can't stress how Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku got stuck in my head, and how iconic the sequence where Utena pulls the Sword of Dios out of Anthy (or Anthy pulling the sword out of Utena) is. Utenanthy was a slow burn, and that's what made it so good to me.

[fictional-character-fight-poll]

Monkey D. Luffy vs. Nana Daiba

Propaganda under the cut:

Monkey D. Luffy:

Bro is absolutely unhinged. Mr crackhead and his merry band of lunatics. Physical fight? Dw he can turn into a semi-god and manipulate reality around him to look and act and attack as a looney toons cartoon. Eating fight? Yeah he eats like a deranged maniac. Daddy issues-off? Nah bro has daddy solutions, he will resolve all of your issues the moment you join his crew. He's dumb as FUCK, but has such crackhead energy he just waltzes up a celestial dragon ( really elitist, they believe they are above normal people) and PUNCHES THEM. BRO DOES NOT CARE.

He’s a stretchy little dude that can (spoilers) turn into a sun god and bend reality to his will

Nana Daiba:

Okay if you give her some swords I think she could stand a fair chance here. She beat her buddies in a 6v1 once, albeit when they were starting to lose their brilliance, and also beat said friends in battle many, many times before due to her rondos. She has two swords and is good at using them. Also I'm just saying that if it's instead a theatre, script writing (for whatever reason) or baking competition she is very good at all of those too

Reasons as to why one or the other would win are encouraged in the notes. Send in additional propaganda and I'll add it to the post!

[renisrandom]

Can you name some Animes or Make a List of Animes You Watched?

If It'll Help I Can Name Some Animes, I Watched:

Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball GT

Ranma 1/2 (2024 Remake)

Fairy Tail: 100 Year Quest

PaRappa the Rapper (yes, there is Anime like that, Look It Up)

Strike the Blood

Akame Ga Kill!

Infinite Stratos

InuYasha

Love Tyrant

To Love Ru

Date A Live

My Hero Academia

Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels & Dragons

The Seven Deadly Sins

Blood Lad

Yu Yu Hakusho

One Piece

Rin-ne

Demon Slayer

Maison Ikkoku

Urusei Yatsura (2024 Remake)

High School DxD

The Rising of the Shield Hero

Assassination Classroom

Attack on Titan

Gunsmith Cats

Riding Bean

Super HxEros

Shinobi no Ittoki

Boruto

Black Clover

Code Geass

Bleach

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Hunter x Hunter (2011 Remake)

Food Wars!

Noragami

Rurouni Kenshin (2024 Remake)

Dr. Stone

Reborn!

Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World

KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!

Log Horizon

Sword Art Online

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

No Game No Life

Cautious Hero: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious

Tokyo Revengers

Fushigi Yuugi

Kill la Kill!

Gurren Lagann

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Fire Force

Neo Yokio

Jujutsu Kaisen

Sailor Moon Crystal

Blue Exorcist

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Persona 5: The Animation

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

Tokyo Ghoul

Seraph of the End

Darling in the Franxx

Danganronpa: The Animation

Mob Psycho 100

High-Rise Invasion

Triage X

SK8 the Infinity

Soul Eater

Powerpuff Girls Z

Cardcaptor Sakura

Little Witch Academia

RWBY (It was Bought by VizMedia so technically it is an Anime)

Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy

Eden's Zero

Yuki Yuna is a Hero

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off!

Spy X Family

Oshi no Ko

The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War

Rurouni Kenshin: Reflections

Shy

Lycoris Recoil

Fate (series)

The Apothecary Diaries

Tomo-chan Is a Girl!

Akiba Maid War

Twin Star Exorcists

Ninja Kamui

Solo Leveling

Mashle: Magic & Muscles

Blue Lock

Kuroko's Basketball

Love After World Domination

Go Go Loser Rangers

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Undead Unluck

Delicious in Dungeon

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

My Dress-Up Darling

Classroom of the Elite

Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf

Mission: Yozakura Family

Chained Soldier

Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood

Nanbaka

Fena: Pirate Princess

Chainsaw Man

Kaiju No. 8

Suicide Squad Isekai

Hajime no Ippo

BAKI (2018 Remake)

Kengan Ashura

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Wanna Be the Strongest in the World!

The God of High School

Oh my! That's quite a long list! Let me see...

Spy X Family

Demon Slayer

Oshi No Ko

Yuki Yuna is a Hero

Madoka Magica

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Really REALLY Love You

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood

Interviews With Monster Girls

Komi Can't Communicate

Romantic Killer

Kotaro Lives Alone

Delicious in Dungeon

Avatar the Last Airbender

Mob Psycho 100

Attack on Titan

Made in Abyss

School-Live (Gakko Gurashi)

Dr. Stone

[teriteriteriteriteri]

Sane analysis of the descriptions of the two recent Myriad Celestia Trailers featuring Acheron. Below annotated are the description for the Acheron and Black Swan Dance video, and the Acheron backstory video:

The dual planets were intertwined in each other's tragic destiny, dancing an eternal rondo around a pitch-black great sun. In the beginning, one of the planets gave rise to humans. These people looked down, and named the land below "Izumo." These people looked up, and named the world above "Takamagahara."[1] One day uninscribed in the annals, the Yaoyorozu-no-kami descended from Takamagahara. These demonic beasts named Kami overturned the skies, burned the rivers and oceans, and shattered the land — People realized in horror that it was not an invasion for rulership, dominance, or plunder. The evil Kami came only to kill. As the planet stood on the brink of death, Izumo embarked on a Kami-slaying journey, exhausting the might of the entire country to slay the calamity "Sovereign of Revelation" and forging the very first Edict Edge using its bestial body. Giving the Kami a taste of their own medicine, the wielder of these swords can recite the mantra contained within the blade to master the divine power of Takamagahara, and use it to combat the evil Kami and save the masses.[2] From then on, Izumo started its long and arduous crusade, exchanging inordinate lives lost for the fall of one Kami after another, shattering countless mortal blades to forge the twelve Sentinels. In the merciless fight for survival, Izumo used the might of the Edict Edges to light up their uncivilized world of darkness in less than ten Amber Eras, building cities of dazzling neon lights. That distant Takama Divine Realm, once so far away, became so close within their reach — Yet history suddenly stopped there.[3] The existence of the two planets instantly evaporated, disappearing into nothingness. Nowadays, the past of the border planet Izumo can only be gleaned from the scattered whispers in the universe. Academics hold various views regarding its disappearance, but none can solve the mystery. Izumo's history should have been a long flowing river, but it was severed in one cut, and all its past and future voided on emptiness' other shore. Did it never exist, and was it no more than a fabricated story? Did its histories never occur, and it ran aground on the beach of reverse causation? Was it yet another appalling experiment by Dr. Primitive, or was it a sign of the Voracity returning from the end of the Cosmos? Only that pitch-black great sun knows the answer, yet THEY remain silent, never speaking.[1.1] Because everything that had happened will one day regress to the end, and everything that had ended is guaranteed to happen again. The universe undergoes an eternal recurrence under THEIR shadow,[1.2] and Izumo is nothing more than the footnote for an ellipsis.

Pinned comment below (although it's just a repeat of the last line of the next description):

The hobbling monk sings a dissonant tune, as those who hold the power of kami retreat towards divinity. Witnessed by the great sun, the land once known as "Izumo" stands bereft of its inhabitants — humans, oni, and kami alike — now vanished without a trace.

Notes:

[1]. Dual planets Izumo and Takamagahara part of a system whose star is a black sun. Izumo is the one with humans.

[1.1]. The black sun can be inferred to be IX, what with the capitalized THEY being used exclusively for Aeons, and the black sun being a black hole as the one we see Black Swan get traumatized by in the dancing video.

[1.2] However? Universe undergoes an eternal recurrence under IX's shadow? Not implausible, given that the total annihilations of the honkai might attract IX. But the recurrence part is what gives me pause. If IX thinks all is hopeless, why eternally occur?

Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters makes reference to an Orkron. We can rule Izumo out, so could this be the endonym of Takamagahara?

Perhaps unrelated, but the duel planet setup reminds me of LeGuin's The Dispossessed. But there one of the planets is actually a moon (I don't know how celestial bodies are classified). Just a parallel.

Black Dwarfs are theorized to exist. These would not be black holes though, merely burnt out 'normal' suns.

[2]. Yaoyorozu-no-kami, or simply Kami, described as demonic beasts, suddenly descended upon Izumo. Izumo is also the name of the person who forged the weapons that can kill the Kami. Can be inferred that the Kami are Honkai, through the Herrscher connections below. Honkai have different names across worlds: https://x.com/No9ah10_/status/1771043024904007706

Izumo slayed "the calamity 'Sovereign of Revelation' and forging the very first Edict Edge using its bestial body," implying a connection between Herrschers and the weapons forged from their cores. Sovereign = Herrscher, Edict Edge = Divine Weapon. This connection is further corroborated by the second video and description.

Here in the real world, Izumo is a Shintō religious center. (Mentioned in the wiki too; these people work fast.) Here for some more info: https://ancient-japan-izumo.com/

[3]. 'Uncivilized' is an interesting choice here, because the threat of honkai increases with the level of civilization. It's literally one of the first sentences in HI3. It is corroborated by the comics by the Pioneers, where Fu Hua specifically prevents CE exposure to PE technology for this reason. This is probably just pedantry, as civilization is relative, and the honkai has existed even during the time we would consider 'uncivilized', but it is noticeable enough to be worth pointing out.

Incredibly fast advancements in civilization could go a while without any real honkai interference, before facing a catastrophic event that instantly wipes everything out.

'World of darkness' is even more interesting. Is it metaphorical, referring to their primitiveness? Or is it literal, what with the black sun and all? This raises even more questions than it answers, but?

The dual planets were intertwined in each other's tragic destiny, and a dead song was scattered amongst the Cave Where Light Hid. The song had no beginning and no end, had no sound and no echo, came from no singer, and was heard by none. It thus uttered: Takamagahara endless like Izumo, for it was a paradise [1] perfect in its place. Yet the sky turned dark and the great sun pulled the tides [2], and the Kami left numerous trails as if migrating [3]. The Yaoyorozu no Magakami manifested and slaughtered without mercy, yet little did they expect their peerless authority to be stolen [4] and taken. Izumo broke seventy-thousand-and-thirty-three warrior's blades, forging the majestic Sentinels twelve in number.

The first was "Truth," forged with the slain Sovereign of Revelation. It allowed mortals to comprehend all laws and order, to dissect all things and to recreate miracles.

The second was "Sky," forged with the slain Eternal Zenith. It could turn the sky into walls and fortresses and pose obstacles for the Magatsu no Morokami's steps.

The third was "Howl," forged with the slain Almighty Thunder. It could summon lightning to tear the sky, and the soaring meteors and thunder dealt divine justice.

The fourth was "Mist," forged with the slain Everbreath. It could make winds break and shear the land, for gales to rage forever unceasing.

The fifth was "Frost," forged with the slain Heaven's Winter Cloak. It could freeze and still the very order of time, to create boundless frozen wastes and stretch one moment into eternity.

The sixth was "Fate," forged with the slain Spurned Sister of Mortality. It could make flowers bloom and cover barren graves, for life and death to dance in a cycle and dissipate.

The seventh was "Flare," forged with the slain Flamebringer. It could summon fires to burn down the very world, to torch the skies and to char the earth.

The eighth was "Thought," forged with the slain Wisdom Supreme. It could discern the past and future with the mirror of water, to tell truth from lies over years beyond reckoning.

The ninth was "Root," forged with the slain Father of Lands. It could command islands to float into the heavens, for mountains and valleys to burst before armies.

The tenth was "Form," forged with the slain Nether Lord. It could make the masses join in unity, for endless forms to ebb and flow as one.

The eleventh was "Bind," forged with the slain Omen Ward. It drove misfortune into a binding cage, for evil and demons to instantly vanish.

The twelfth was "Maw," forged with the slain Woes Eighty. It could corrode and age the very mortal world and make equal Kami and Oni, leaving an entity's four souls to be sundered in twain. [5]

Then the underworld was cleared out, the wars called to a halt, and the twelve blades broken and locked. In the emptiness the dead souls grew restless, and under the black sun two blades were forged as Bearers of the world's destiny.[6] One was named "Origin" and the other named "End," for all begun with humanity and shall end with Oni-kind. The sounds of lamentation ceased, and the dead flowers rose and fell. The losers returned to the void, and the winners… became null. The hobbling monk sang the song without a tune, for those who hold the power of Kami are walking backwards, towards divinity. Witnessed by the great sun, the land once named Izumo became completely devoid… of humans, Oni, and Kami.

Notes:

[1]. Takamagahara is described as a paradise, but also the place from with the Kami descended.

A once propsering civilization resided there, soon wiped out form the Honkai? Which then 'migrated' to Izumo?

[2]. This sentence I cannot make sense of.

Did the sky going black mean that the sun also went black, assuming it might not have always been so?

What tides did it pull? Did the star collapse into a black hole?

[3]. Left trails as if migrating is also a complete mystery.

Why 'as if' migrating? Why not migrating? Did they leave Takama, or enter Izumo, or leave entirely? The following sentence implies that they came to Izumo, but still.

[4]. Authority is a word very specifically used to refer to the power that the Herrschers wield. This paired with the direct parallels between the 12 swords and the 12 Herrschers, make a very good case that the Sovereigns are Herrschers, albeit not ones fighting for humanity.

[5]. Directly paralleling the Herrschers in order and ability. Crazy graph drawing the parallels: https://x.com/marisahonkai/status/1771067409988018236

[6]. 77,033 mortal blades -> 12 Sentinels -> 2 Bearers -> 1(?)

After the Bearers are forged, mention of "The world forged 77, 047 blades, but only one could save Izumo." That's 77,033 + 12 + 2 and a new blade. The final one. 'Naught' referred in the subtitles as 'Life'.

According to this comment, the mortal blade number is a reference to the Herrschers from GGZ: @duchong6213 If you listen closely, you can hear Honkai World Diva at 1:30 (dramatic ver.) 3:07 (slow ver.) "Izumo have 70,033 blades (ref GGZ total herrschers) and from them, they forged it again to make 12 Sentinel sword (ref HI3rd 13 Herrschers)." Cannot confirm, found referenced up until the 70th herrscher

From [2:48] and onwards:

Takama was surely as beautify as Izumo (before the Kami descended.)

Origin and End break each other.

Izumo forged these blades 'because of a lie. An end that never existed.'

Then she slashed the black sun with Naught, horns disappearing (oni-fication stopped?)

Possibly when she became an Emanator?

The slash from Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters and the slash here seem to be one and the same, further pointing to the fact that the black sun is IX. Then again, it might be a different one? Acheron can slash more than one black hole.

Questions remaining:

"Galaxy Ranger? No, I've made a grave mistake." Absolutely zero mention of Galaxy Ranger-dom in either account of Acheron's past.

The girl that tried to shoot her and presumably stood shoulder to shoulder with, thought…

However, Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters violently implies that Acheron's companion is Frebass (actually, it implies that Frebass' companion is Acheron, but I digress.) Frebass is a Nameless, so it's not a case of 'picking up the title of a dead friend'. They only journeyed for 30 days, so it might be a different companion.

WHO IS ACHERON AN EMANATOR OF????????? Torn between what everyone else is torn between: Finality and Nihility.

Who is the girl pointing the gun, the hobbling monk, and Ferbass?

Why is Acheron's memory so bad?

Why does she 'remember' us?

What the fuck is 'Naught'?

[marcmarcmomarc]

Super Smash Bros. Fighter Presentation

MASTER HAND: The fifth and final game in the series is “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” for Nintendo Switch! For the game’s newcomers, we have a race of anthropomorphic squid that can shapeshift between humanoid and cephalopod forms, utilizing their ink for various purposes within the sport of Turf Wars, striving to be the "freshest" amongst their peers. They are “Part Kid, Part Squid”, number 64, the Inklings!

Theme: Victory! Inkling - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

(The Inklings leap out of trails of ink and land at center stage. Inkling Girl fires the Splattershot into the air with one hand while smirking.)

INKLING GIRL: Woomy!

(Inkling Boy raises the Splattershot several times into the air in a celebratory cheer.)

INKLING BOY: Ngyes!

CRAZY HAND: First appearance, “Splatoon” for the Nintendo Wii U.

MASTER HAND: Next is an alternate skin for Red, a child from Pallet Town who was given the task to catch them all for the Pokédex. Meet Pokémon Trainer Leaf!

(Leaf steps to center stage and jumps slightly off the ground while doing a double fist pump.)

Theme: Victory! Pokémon Trainer by GB6

LEAF: Yay!

CRAZY HAND: First appearance, “Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen” for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance.

MASTER HAND: Next is the feisty Princess of the four kingdoms of Sarasaland, who was saved by Mario from the evil alien Tatanga and since then has been a firm friend of the Mushroom Kingdom crew, joining them in everything from kart racing to tennis. She is Princess Peach’s Echo Fighter, “Sarasaland’s Chipper Princess”, number 13e, Princess Daisy!

Theme: Victory! Daisy by GB6

(Daisy skips to center stage, spins around and gives a peace sign.)

DAISY: Yeah!

CRAZY HAND: First appearance, “Super Mario Land” for the Nintendo Game Boy.

MASTER HAND: Next is the arch-enemy of Samus, a high-ranking leader of the Space Pirates, a major antagonist of the “Metroid” series, and no longer too big for Smash. “The Cunning God of Death”, number 65, Ridley!

Theme: Victory! Ridley by GB6

(Ridley descends to center stage and roars with all his frightening might.)

CRAZY HAND: First appearance, “Metroid” for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

MASTER HAND: Next is the legendary vampire hunter of the Castlevania series, and a member of the illustrious Belmont clan, a family that uses the holy whip, the Vampire Killer, to hunt the evil armies of Dracula wherever they may lurk. He is “The Evil Whip-Wielding Bane”, number 66, Simon Belmont!

Theme: Victory! Simon - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

(Simon steps to center stage and holds the coiled Vampire Killer in the air.)

SIMON: I vanquish the darkness!

CRAZY HAND: First appearance, “Castlevania” for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

MASTER HAND: The younger vampire hunter, Simon’s hot-headed descendant, and considered one of the strongest in the Belmont Clan’s lineage, is next. Simon’s Echo Fighter, “The Azure Vampire Assassin”, number 66e, Richter Belmont!

Theme: Victory! Richter by GB6

(Richter steps to center stage and swings the Vampire Killer wildly.)

RICHTER: Begone! You don’t belong in this world, monster!

CRAZY HAND: First appearance, “Castlevania: Rondo of Blood” for the TurboGrafx-16, or, the PC Engine, as it’s known in Japan.

MASTER HAND: Next is the leader of the Shepherds, Exalt of Ylisse following the sacrifice of his sister Emmeryn, and father to Lucina. Meet Roy’s Echo Fighter, “The Prince of Ylisse”, number 25e, Chrom!

Theme: Victory! Chrom by GB6

(Chrom steps to center stage, twirls the Exalted Falchion twice, then holds the blade of the sword in his left hand as he finishes.)

CHROM: Anything can change!

CRAZY HAND: First appearance, “Fire Emblem: Awakening” for the Nintendo 3DS.

MASTER HAND: The reincarnation of Metroid Prime is Samus’ Echo Fighter, “The Phazon Incarnate”, number 04e, Dark Samus!

Theme: Victory! Dark Samus by GB6

(Dark Samus steps to center stage, then crouches while holding her Arm Cannon upright.)

CRAZY HAND: While her first appearance is a cameo in “Metroid Prime” for the Nintendo GameCube, her first full appearance is “Metroid Prime 2: Echoes” for the Nintendo GameCube.

MASTER HAND: Now, we are face-to-face with the Kong family’s original arch-enemy, the demented leader of the band of crocodilians known as the Kremling Krew, usually content with stealing their bananas, medals, or Crystal Coconut. Meet “The Kremling Commander”, number 67, King K. Rool!

Theme: Victory! King K. Rool - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

(K. Rool stomps to center stage and roars on the last note.)

CRAZY HAND: First appearance, “Donkey Kong Country” for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

MASTER HAND: Next, the near-sighted yet very perky mayor’s secretary, essentially doing most of the government-related work while the mayor lives out the usual villager life, occasionally asking them for certain decisions. She is “The Mayor’s Assistant” number 68, Isabelle!

Theme: Victory! Isabelle by GB6

(Isabelle steps to center stage and waves a paw.)

ISABELLE: (subtitled) Do your best!

CRAZY HAND: First appearance, “Animal Crossing: New Leaf” for the Nintendo 3DS.

MASTER HAND: The next fighter is the former sparring partner, rival, and Echo Fighter of Ryu, “The Fire-Breathing Fist”, number 60e, Ken Masters!

Theme: Victory! Ken by GB6

(Ken steps to center stage, bumps his fists together, then holds one out.)

KEN: Attack me if you dare!

CRAZY HAND: First appearance, “Street Fighter” for Arcade!

MASTER HAND: Next, the Heel Pokémon and final evolution of the Alola fire starter, Litten, a fiery bipedal tiger stylized to resemble a pro-wrestler, but not a Fighting-Type like Lucario, instead a Dark-Type, like Greninja. It is “The Ring’s Raging Flame”, number 69, Incineroar!

Theme: Victory! Incineroar by GB6

(Incineroar steps to center stage, then pounds its chest then raises its fist triumphantly while facing forward.)

CRAZY HAND: First appearance, “Pokémon Sun and Moon” for the Nintendo 3DS.

[theastralbard]

Since cat arc is in full swing, I decided to finally learn digital art and do fanart of everyone's favorite catgirl rogue. You know her! The girl who was fused with a cat-like monster and joins the party because she wants to find a "cure", but eventually gains some level of acceptance of herself.

Well, no more waffling. I'm sure you're all frothing at the mouth to see her.

Here she is!!!!!

It's Alhambra!! From the hit Nintendo DS strategy game Rondo of Swords. You know her!!

[ventusrocks]

CotC Warrior Tower

It's been a busy weekend in CotC! After I got Rondo and Sazantos on Friday, I cleared the warrior tower through floor 5 for the first time. Then I got Tikilen on Saturday, built her an elemental attack sword of fortune (the souls came out not bad!), and decided to try the warrior tower EX floors 1 and 2 so I could get her awakening stone. My team had some casualties, but we pulled through, mostly thanks to my level 90 Oersted from my all-purpose team. Tikilen is now A1, and I'm excited to strengthen her further in the coming months! Thus, I was inspired to draw this wonderful group of warriors.

[whimsica]

Fan Created Pathway: The Artist Pathway

NOTE: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD. THIS POST DISCUSSES GENERAL BACKGROUND DETAILS OF LORD OF THE MYSTERIES WHICH ARE NOT PLOT RELEVANT

Sequence 9: Artist

Abilities:

High Spirituality: Beyonders of this pathway have much deeper reserves of spirituality, second only to the Monster Pathway

Enhanced Observation: The Artist's ability to observe and memorize detail is greatly enhanced

Enhanced Dexterity: The Artist's dexterity and ability to handle tools such as pens, pencils, or charcoal is enhanced

Inspiration: The Beyonder can gain revelations from their spirituality in order to perceive or observe things which they shouldn't be able to see, received through a sudden burst of inspiration which compels them to draw or otherwise reproduce what they've 'seen'. Carries a greater risk of losing control due to seeing something they shouldn't have, or of the art they create from a burst of inspiration to have latent uncontrollable effects.

Sequence 8: Musician

New Abilities:

Enhanced Hearing: The Musician gains hearing far more powerful than an ordinary human. Also boosts auditory memory and ability to recall or recreate sounds.

Instrument Mastery: Musicians of this pathway gain the ability to rapidly learn and play any type of instrument with only a few days of practice.

Beyonder Music: The Musician can play a variety of songs with a variety of effects. Songs must be played using an instrument, rather than via singing or humming, or their effects will be massively reduced. The songs do not have specific sets of notes which must be followed, but must fit the appropriate genre for their effect. The Musician can choose targets to weaken the effects of the songs on, in order to avoid affecting enemies or teammates at inopportune times. Songs Include:

March: Boosts the physical abilities of nearby listeners. Nocturne: Pacifies the living, inflicting drowsiness and slowing them down Requiem: Pacifies the dead, lowering the aggression of undead spirits Waltz: Increases the spatial awareness and by extension evasiveness and accuracy of listeners Étude: Increases the focus and mental faculties of listeners Rhapsody: Pulls the attention of listeners to the Musician playing the song Rondo: Inflicts a degree of mental dissonance and confusion on listeners Suite: Allows the listeners to greatly synchronize their movements for a high degree of cooperation

Sequence 7: Sculptor

New Abilities:

Enhanced 3D Perception: Greatly enhanced ability to perceive and recreate the specific 3D measurements of anything. Allows the Sculptor to directly overlay their mental image of something over their vision for comparisons.

Tool Mastery: The Sculptor gains mastery of tools related to sculpting, carving, whittling, and shaping.

Living Statues: Any statues, sculptures, or models created by the Sculptor can be imbued with spirituality, allowing them to temporarily gain the characteristics of whatever the sculpture is. The Sculptor is the only one who can activate their sculptures in this way, but once activated by the Sculptor they can be used by others. Living and non-living things can both be made, and living sculptures will obey the Sculptor, but have no will or memory of their own. The specific effect of the sculpture depends on how detailed the sculpture is, as well as the material they are made from. For example, an intricately carved wooden sword can become a razor-sharp blade which retains the light weight and flammability of wood. A lion carved from marble would be far heavier and more resilient than a normal animal. All animated sculptures are considered Beyonder Weapons to some extent as they are an extension of a Sculptor's ability, and as such are able to deal effective damage to Beyonders or spiritual bodies as long as they have been injected with spirituality by their Sculptor. If materials with natural spirituality are used, sculptures may have some limited mystical effects.

Beyonder Sculpture: Beyonder Characteristics or potion ingredients can be used in the creation of a sculpture to grant it abilities like that of a Mystical Item, including various negative effects or living characteristics which might make it uncontrollable.

Sequence 6: Charm Carver

Abilities:

Runic Inspiration: The Charm Carver learns a number of runes which can be carved into charms for a number of effects. These charms can also be carved into the Charm Carver's Living Statues in order to empower them or grant them special effects. These charms can be empowered via the Charm Carver's own spirituality instead of through a ritual aimed at a higher being, but naturally charms created in this manner are weaker than those created via a deity's power.

Charm Gifting: The Charm Carver's charms or Living Statues can be given to others who can use their own spirituality to

Types of Runes:

Grow/Shrink: Grow or shrink in size to a certain degree. Immolate: Produces high temperature, spiritual flames. Freeze: Produces a powerful freezing effect. Impact: Produces a powerful blast of physical force. Levitation: Allows levitation and limited flight at decent speeds. Camouflage: Greatly increases ability to go undetected through both mundane and mystical means. Enhance Body: Boosts physical capabilities across the board. Enhance Mind: Boosts mental capabilities across the board. Soul Rip: Injure the soul of a living thing. Substitute: Transfer an instance of damage or corruption to something nearby. Record/Replay: Can record or replay a scene or sound. Capable of transmitting Beyonder effects such as corruption or a Musician's songs. Repair/Regenerate: Allows both living and non-living things to heal some damage. Darkness: Create a large area of mystical darkness, obscuring the vision of even beings with night vision. Flare: Create a burst of searing light. Screech: Create a horrific screech which damages any who hear it. Mesmerize: Draw the focus or attention of living things nearby. Can be done either directly in combat or subtly out of combat. Bind: Restrict the movement of a target. Warp: Allows a short range teleportation effect. Not as safe or stable as Traveling, can result in things intersecting as a result of misdirected warping, cannot be repeatedly done.

Sequence 5: Painter

New Abilities:

Spiritual Paints: The Painter gains knowledge of a large number of mystical paints which can be mixed from common mystical ingredients.

Master of Painting: The Painter gains mastery of techniques related to painting, and is capable of producing paintings so detailed they are near indistinguishable from reality.

Painted Symbols: The Painter can directly paint the runes they learned as a Charm Carver onto various surfaces or items to gain their effects.

Still Life Manifestation: Painted effects, items, or creatures can be briefly brought to life by the Painter, such as a painted flame being plucked from the surface it is painted on and becoming real, or a painted bird peeling from a canvas to deliver a letter. The lifespan and power of these effects depends on the amount of spirituality inserted by the Painter.

Vault of Colours: Can turn any painting made by them into a hidden 3D subspace, which can be entered by any living or non-living thing while activated through the Painter's spirituality. The environment within the Vault of Colours depends on the painting it is created in. As long as the Painter includes their Painted Symbols in the painting, they will be able to use the various abilities of the Painted Symbols at will while inside the Vault. Living things can be sealed inside paintings so long as the Painter closes the Vault of Colours while the target remains inside, and without any special circumstances most Beyonders will require demigod level strength to break out quickly. Things sealed within a painting will appear in the painting once it is 'closed' but can be concealed depending on the other contents of the painting. A Painter can keep several Vaults of Colour open at any one time, but if one is left alone without any reinforcement of spirituality for too long it will close, permanently turning everything inside it into mere brush strokes. If a living Beyonder is killed inside a Vault of Colours or a Beyonder Characteristic is left within one, the painting can be turned into a Mystical Item which doesn't require the constant refreshment of the Painter's spirituality. The specific effects will depend on the characteristic used.

Sequence 4: Effigist

New Abilities:

Effigy Creation: The Effigist can create an effigy of a target through the various methods of their earlier Sequences. Using the target's blood or hair can cause even a simple effigy to work, but if not obtainable or if the target has removed their connection with the lost blood or hair, the more accurate and realistic the effigy the better the effect. Must be within 50 meters to establish a connection between the target and the effigy, but once the connection is established the target can be affected as long as they are within 10 kilometers of the effigy. Targets with sensitive spirituality can detect the influence on their spirituality, but without special circumstances will not know it is an effigy being created. Breaking the connection requires targeted rituals or a vast difference in strength between the target and the Effigist.

Iron Thorn Curse: Once an effigy is connected to its target, the Effigist can directly attack the target by attacking their effigy. Fatal attacks are difficult unless the target is significantly weaker than the Effigist, either through being a lower Sequence or through being wounded enough to weaken them.

Rend Resistance: By using the effigy as a target for various Beyonder abilities such as restrictions, curses, or corruption, bypass some of the targets resistance to those types of ability.

Manipulation: By leaving the effigy connected to the target for a long time, influence the subconscious of the target through the effigy.

Sequence 3: Actor

New Abilities:

Perfect Body Control: The Actor gains the ability to perfectly control every part of their body as well as magnifying the Musician's ability to mimic sounds to the extreme.

Improvisation: By acting or miming an effect, the Actor can cause it to happen. Examples include creating a ship to traverse a sea by acting as if they are standing on the deck of a ship moving forwards, firing a bank of cannons by miming the motion of doing so, creating a regiment of charging cavalry by acting out riding a charging warhorse. Using props created by earlier Sequences can lower the requirement of the acting to cause its most powerful effect. Beyonder powers can also be mimicked, albeit with lesser strength. This ability is only limited by the Actor's spirituality reserves, the accuracy of their acting, and their imagination.

Rehearsal: The Actor undoes everything which happened around them by skipping time back in a limited area, moving everything back a short amount of time. All affected people are aware of what happened in the original set of time which is . This can be used to repeat a certain interaction until a desired result is achieved, but as enemies will also know what would have happened it can backfire. Charms used will become unused, wounds dealt will be undealt, people slain will be returned to life. This ability affects everything in range with the Actor unable to designate any specific elements aside from the general amount of time 'Rehearsed'. The Actor can also set it to activate at a specific time in the near future, allowing them to revive themselves if they can predict themselves being killed. This can be used repeatedly, but is extremely draining on spirituality.

Sequence 2: Architect

New Abilities:

Structural Analysis: An Architect can instantly grasp a perfect understanding of any structure simply by making contact with their spirituality.

Spirit Blueprint: The Architect can control any structure which they have designed, even if they had no part in building it. Even if they only made a few minor design adjustments to an existing blueprint, they can maintain a small degree of control. By spending some time, they can control any structure which they contact with their spirituality. The former has no range restriction, while the latter requires the Architect to be nearby. Any abilities from the Architect's previous Sequences can be used in a structure they control, as well as several new abilities. The Architect can instantly traverse within any structure they control, but not between different structures unless those structures are connected. The space within the structures can be greatly expanded or shrunk, features can be shifted at the Architect's will, halls can be made to loop infinitely or specific rooms completely concealed. An Architect can detect any item or living thing within a structure they control.

Spirit Structure: Architects can construct buildings in conceptual locations such as the spirit world or sea of collective unconscious, or allow a building to exist both in the material world and the spirit world.

Sequence 1: World-Maker

New Abilities:

World Creation: A World-Maker can create small worlds. These worlds can be made completely from scratch, or by converting an existing piece of the world into a smaller world. They can range from a few thousand meters to thousands of kilometers wide, depending on the time and spirituality invested into them. These worlds can either be carried around by the World-Maker in the form of small vortexes attached to their spirit body or be placed at a specific location. They can be sealed and isolated, without any interaction between the small world and the greater world, or the small world can be fused into the greater world as its own area. The World-Maker can determine the rules of their small worlds at will, but if fused with the greater world those rules will be suppressed by the rules of the greater world. All of a World-Maker's previous Sequence abilities are usable within their small worlds completely at will, as if the entire world was within their body.

Life Creation: Using their various abilities, a World-Maker can create living beings to inhabit their worlds. These beings are fully capable of existing by themselves, completely unreliant on the World-Maker's spirituality. They can develop mystical abilities and their own spirituality through either the World-Maker's control of the rules of the small world or through applications of the World-Maker's Sequence abilities, but cannot form Beyonder characteristics or ingredients without outside influence. They cannot reproduce by themselves, as they are still 'Creations'. These living beings can be used as anchors for the World-Maker.

World Projection: The World-Maker summons a projection of one or multiple of their worlds, temporarily applying the environment and rules of that world upon their surroundings, turning their surroundings into a domain similar to that of the Architect's structure. The more of the chosen worlds are created from scratch by the World-Maker rather than pulled in from elsewhere, the more powerful this ability.

World Incarnation: The World-Maker fuses together with one of their worlds, becoming as resilient as the chosen world. They can't be harmed unless it is with sufficient strength to damage the landscape of the chosen world. The traits of the world can be manifested as abilities, such as a volcano erupting, an ocean surging in, or ravines cracking open. The abilities of all living beings within the world can be used as the World-Maker's own, and the spirituality of the world's living beings is fused into the World-Maker's own.

Sequence 0: Muse

New Abilities:

True Life Proliferation: The lives inside the Muse's worlds can become true life forms, capable of reproducing, mutating, and proliferating without any assistance from the Muse. The worlds created by the Muse can exist on their own without any support from the Muse or the greater world, fully self-sustaining.

Nature Mirrors Art: The natural world will move to reflect the Muse's art, mountains appearing after being painted in, animals shifting form to match a statue, blizzards brewing alongside a song being composed.

A Myriad of Colours: Slightly weakened abilities from other Pathways and Authorities can be reproduced via the Muse's creations without ceding control to the deity responsible for that Authority .

In the Eye of the Beholder: As long as the Muse's works are still being observed and admired, they will never truly perish and will have a chance to resurrect regardless of how badly destroyed they are.

Art is Eternal: The Muse's creations can maintain their abilities and traits for hundreds or thousands of years purely from the Muse's remnant spirituality, even without any Beyonder characteristic within them.

Font of Inspiration: The Muse can release knowledge and ideas of their domain to any and all living things across the world, which appear as natural inspiration.

Additional Notes:

The neighboring pathways to Artist would be the Savant Pathway and the Mystery Pryer Pathway, to form a trifecta of rational knowledge and science (Savant), mystical knowledge and research (Mystery Pryer) and emotional knowledge and art (Artist).

Similar to the Mystery Pryer pathway, Beyonders of the Artist pathway can affect lower Sequences than themselves by providing inspiration, which is not as direct as the knowledge transfer of the Mystery Pryer pathway.

The Mythical Creature Form of the Artist Pathway is a vortext of countless changing vibrant colours.

The apotheosis ritual for Sequence 1: World-Maker to advance to Sequence 0: Muse is "To create a work of art only possible for a true deity".

[spinningbuster98]

Castlevania Symphony of the Night Part 3: Regional Differences

So...to go back for a second to the fact that I’m playing a translated Japanese version, let’s talk about cut content!

There are a couple of things that were cut from this game when it was released overseas, mostly minor objects that would have required some further localization which the team probably didn’t wanna be bothered with

For starters: there are 2 hidden familiars in the original version that are not present in western releases (PSP port notwithstanding)

In the hidden room where you’d otherwise find the Holy Sword you instead find the Nose Demon! He’s essentially a reskin of the normal Demon familiar you get later on, except he’s got a funny face and voice lines. Supposedly he’s based on a popular japanese comedian of the time, so I assume that the reason he was cut was because the joke would have flown over us westerners’ heads

In the room where you’d find the Sword familiar you instead find the Half-Fairy. She works exactly like the normal Fairy except she has different voice lines....and a very cool easter egg attatched to her: if you sit on a chair and don’t move for a couple of minutes she will sit on Alucard’s shoulder and there’s a chance (it’s random and she would not cooperate with me at first here) that she will then start singing this beautiful little melody which I’m going to show off next time :)

I’m going to assume that the reason this one was cut is because not only would they have to translate the song but also have someone sing it and given the quality of the english voice cast yeah forget it

There are other, minor differences, such as the ghostly priest in the Cathedral actually having a voice line where he does a little prayer while he’s totally mute in the international release

Speaking of the english voice cast I guess I’m sort of obligated to talk about them eh? Well let’s go over them!

Rober Belgrade as Alucard should not work for all intents and purposes, mainly because the actual tone of his voice is the literal opposite of his japanese va (same guy who voices Zero in Megaman X btw): Alucard is supposed to be an elegant, refined yet coldly stoic prince, so a soft voice that can still command respect fits him, while Belgrade is far too baritone. Yet despite this he still ends up sounding iconic because he’s pretty much the only person in this cast who genuinely tried to do his best. It’s a case where the voice itself shouldn’t fit but the delivery of the lines saves it

Dracula’s va (same guys who voiced the protagonist of Silent Hill 1 btw) sounds like he was convinced he was supposed to perform a parody of a Shakesperean play, he sounds so over the top he ends up sounding funny. The voice itself does not match the artwork nor the general idea of Dracula as this dark and intimidating figure

I don’t wanna harp on too much on Richter’s va (same va as Chris Redfield from RE1 btw) since the man died a bunch of years ago, but....yeah he was clearly reading his lines in the opening. He gets a little better in the rest of the game but that’s the extent of it

I’ve heard folks say that they can’t stand Maria’s younger sounding voice in the PSP port because she “doesn’t sound mature enough”, to which I ask: You do know she’s 17 here right? Granted I used to know girls in High School that had relatively deep voices, but Maria here straight up sounds like your average sultry sexy lady, much older than what she’s supposed to be, while she’s actually supposed to be a more mature version of her Rondo self: still pretty upbeat and cheerful but with more maturity on her

Lastly let’s talked about flimsy localization!

One of my biggest gripes against SOTN for the longest times was the number of secret moves and features the game does not tell you about

Some of these I’ve never minded because they’re minor and I can understand why they’d be secret, for example the secret moves that some weapons can perform? Just a cool little thing that you can accidentaly find out on your own while fumbling with the controls (which happened to me). The ability to use any spell without buying them at the shop by just knowing their commands? Well late game spells destroy the early game so of course it’d be a secret, plus again you can discover this accidentally on your own. The Shield Rod spells? Well those HAD to be secrets. The Wing Smash? That...I’m more salty about because Alucard’s flight is slow as sin without it but whatever

My real issue was always with the High Jump and the Skill of Wolf power ups, mainly because you had to find the correct relics for them...but then the game wouldn’t tell you how to actually use them (technically speaking you can still boost with the wolf after acquiring thePower of Wolf Relic, but no version of the game, not even the Japanese one, tells you how to do it with this Relic alone. Tbf it’s a very simple command, just double tap either left or right, but the Skill of Wolf Relic actually allows you to immediately run on a whim with no build up, thus allowing you to use the ability much more frequently)! Not only is this dumb because, while not strictly vital, these moves speed up exploration big time (especially in the Inverted Castle) but also because it made the feeling of discovering these relics pretty moot.

That is until I played the japanese version! Turns out that in this original version the in-game relic descriptions for these two actually DO contain the button inputs for how to use them. Just to be sure I even briefly played through an untranslated japanese rom and lo and behold!

I may not be able to read kanji, but I can recognize arrows meant to represent button inputs!

So thank you english localization for making me think for over 10 years that Sotn was more cryptic than it actually is :)

[maskedking06]

First impressions

Castlevania symphony of the night

Castlevania symphony of the night is most popular title in the castlevania franchise considered one of the essential titles of the original PlayStation and my first entry into the castlevania series

Now I’ve never played a castlevania game or even a Metroidvania game before the most I’ve played was a demo for Metroid dread

But now that I’m playing one for the first time how do I feel about it I’ll go over it under the cut

Now just a reminder I haven’t finished the story yet so if I’m leaving out anything that’s why

The story so far

The game starts with us playing as richter facing Dracula at the end of rondo of blood with one of the most infamously cheesy voice acting scenes

Thank the maker for the redub

After we defeat Dracula the game cuts to four years later richter has gone missing and castlevania has reappeared leading Alucard (the son of Dracula from castlevania 3 ) to investigate

The game starts with you at full power blasting through enemies with your abilities until you remember this is a metroidvania game and death comes to steal your weapons and abilities from then on you travel across the castle meeting new people fighting monsters and frequently coming across a mysterious woman named Maria who seems to know something about richter

Hey this is where I am at the moment I’ll save the full summary for the full review

The gameplay

Castlevania sotn has you roaming throughout the castle fighting monsters and exploring what might be there

Like most Metroidvania’s the game is very much open ended meaning you can explore at your own pace however some areas will be blocked and won’t be accessible unless you find a relic that will give you the ability to proceed

The combat in this game has cool twist in it that there are rpg elements attached to it

In this game Alucard can be customized through the weapons and equipment you find from beating enemies or exploring

There are many weapons in this game from long swords short swords rods shields bows and many others and these give a lot of room for customization during combat

Alucard however can only equip two weapons at a time so be smart with how you design him and make sure it’s fitting for the level and enemies you’re facing

I should also note that many powerful weapons you get early in the game are typically one use so be mindful of that

Another thing I should mention is that alucards abilities can be gained through relics you find in the game from the ability to double jump to his transformation powers

There are many enemies in this game that have a lot of cool concepts and designs however they can be difficult to deal with in the beginning however once you get the hang of things the enemies become more easier to deal with

The most annoying enemies however are the smaller ones because while they may take less damage to kill they are much harder to hit

This can make them deadly if they are placed in Large amounts

Another thing I should mention is that early in the game I’d recommend not going

At the monsters considering there’s a good chance of your butt getting kicked and you being faced with monsters while at low heath

Castlevania is divided into many levels that are fun to explore and play through

A lot backgrounds are very cool to look at and there’s a lot a variety in the enemies you face with my favorite’s being the library and colosseum

However the ones I’d argue being poorly designed are the clock tower platforming ones

Not only do you have to deal with flying enemies who could knock you back if you get hit but enemies like crows who attack you when you get to close and are much smaller making them harder to hit and Medusa head who are small as well except they come from the side off the stage

Overall this is a very fun game to play and so far I’m enjoying it I’ll give a full review once I finish the game so have a good day

[saddest-wettest-beast-tournament]

Ensemble Stars Music Showdown Bracket

The brackets have been all set up! Round one will begin tomorrow, 5/11, around 5 PM EST and will run for 1 day

Make as much propaganda as you want and if you want me to rb it make sure to tag me in it

Going to put the brackets in text format under the cut

Bracket A

Left Side

1: Crazy Roulette (Crazy:B) vs Date Plan A to Z (√AtoZ)

2: PARANOIA STREET (Crazy:B) vs Rakuen Tsuihou -Faith Conquest- (Eden)

3: Omoi no Kakera (Switch) vs Promise Swords (Knights)

4: You’re Speculation (ALKALOID) vs RIOT WOLF (Koga)

5: Sei Shounen Yuugi (ex-Valkyrie) vs TRICK with TREAT!! (2wink)

6: Yuukyou Seishunka (Valkyrie & AKATSUKI) vs The Beast of the End (Adam)

7: Little Little Prince Star (Tori) vs Zan -Ketsui no Yaiba- (AKATSUKI)

8: NA NA NA SUMMER NIGHT BeeAT (Crazy:B) vs Kanata e no Uta (Kanata)

9: Black Ball-Room (DEADMANZ) vs d’Arc (ex-Valkyrie)

10: Daydream×Reality (Trickstar) vs VIVID ROLE-PLAYING (Sora)

11: Sleeper Mystery Train (Double Face) vs Tell Your World (2wink & Switch)

12: Sajou no Roukaku (ex-Valkyrie) vs Yoru ni Kakeru (ALKALOID & Double Face)

13: Twilight Pentagram (Altered/Five Eccentrics) vs Heart aid Cafeteria (BLEND+)

14: Voice of Sword (Knights) vs Living on the Edge (ALKALOID)

15: The Tempest Night (fine) vs Ryusei Hanabi (RYUSEITAI)

16: Honeycomb Summer (Crazy:B) vs Kiss of Life (ALKALOID)

Right Side

1: Fight for Judge (Knights) vs Melody in the Dark (UNDEAD)

2: Midnight Butlers (XXVeil) vs VERMILION (ALKALOID)

3: U.S.A. (Crazy:B & UNDEAD) vs Moonlight Disco (Getto Spectacle)

4: Have you been naughty or nice? (Flambé!) vs Uruwashi no Nightingale (Valkyrie)

5: Magic for your “Switch” (Switch) vs Matsuriyo Emaki (AKATSUKI)

6: Meikyuu Denshi Kairou (Valkyrie) vs Heart Prism・Symmetry (2wink)

7: FIST OF SOUL (Butou-kai) vs Feathers of Ark (fine)

8: BRAND NEW STARS!! (All) vs Feather Heartache (Kaoru)

9: How to move’n chess (Izumi, Arashi, Nazuna, & Kuro) vs Unstoppable Love! (Trickstar)

10: Yukai Tsuukai That's Alright! (MaM) vs Shippuu Jinrai Shinobi Michi (Shinobu)

11: Savage Love Affair (UNDEAD) vs Nekketsu☆Ryusei Ninpouchou (RYUSEITAI)

12: Or the Beautiful Golden Drop (Knights) vs Birthday of Music! (Leo)

13: Death Game Holic (DEADMANZ) vs Noir Neige (La Mort)

14: Stippling (Double Face) vs Cloth Waltz (Shu)

15: FORBIDDEN RAIN (UNDEAD) vs PERFECTLY-IMPERFECT (UNDEAD & AKATSUKI)

16: Eccentric Party Night!! (Five Eccentrics) vs Genuine Revelation (ex-fine)

Bracket B

Left Side

1: =EYE= (Double Face) vs Awakening Myth (Eden)

2: Crush of Judgement (Knights Killers) vs Knights the Phantom Thief (Knights)

3: Be the Party Bee! (Crazy:B) vs Gate of the Abyss (UNDEAD)

4: Mystic Fragrance (Knights) vs Eternal Weaving (Valkyrie)

5: Poison Strategy (Ibara) vs Psyche’s Butterfly (Eden)

6: Hysteric Humanoid (ALKALOID) vs Marine Blue Rendezvous (Kanata)

7: Akatsuki Iroha Uta (AKATSUKI) vs Niichan Cheer Squad☆ (Nazuna)

8: Endless Vide (Fraternity) vs Gekkou Kitan (AKATSUKI)

9: RAINBOW CIRCUS (fine) vs See You Again (Madara)

10: Brilliant Smile (Switch) vs Sunlit Smile (Eve)

11: Kohaku to Ruri no Rondo (Mika) vs Melty♡Kitchen (Ra*bits)

12: Tenka Muteki☆Meteorangers! (RYUSEITAI) vs Secret Gravity (Natsume)

13: Little Romance (Knights) vs Artistic Partisan (ALKALOID & Valkyrie)

14: Coruscate Breeze (Knights) vs Ironic Blue (Izumi)

15: Ghostic Treat House (fine) vs Helter-Spider (Crazy:B)

16: Mayonaka no Nocturne (Ritsu) vs Bloody Moon Vampire (Rei)

Right Side

1: Yubisaki no Ariadne (Crazy:B) vs Distorted Heart (ALKALOID)

2: Acanthe (Valkyrie) vs Noisy:Beep (Crazy:B)

3: Article of Faith (Knights) vs Raisanka (Valkyrie)

4: RISKY VENUS (Crazy:B) vs FALLIN' LOVE=IT'S WONDERLAND (Ra*bits)

5: Believe 4 leaves (ALKALOID) vs Nightless World (UNDEAD)

6: Mémoire Antique (Valkyrie) vs Saql Faith (Adonis)

7: Play “Tag” (2wink) vs JEWEL STONE (Arashi)

8: Life is so Dramatic!! (SCREEN10) vs Rainbow Stairway (Jin & Akiomi)

9: Owaranai Symphonia (fine) vs Romancing Cruise (Switch)

10: Heart Heat Beat (RYUSEITAI) vs Fantastic Days◎ (Hiyori)

11: Majestic Magic (Switch & Eden) vs IMMORAL WORLD (UNDEAD)

12: Break the Prison (UNDEAD) vs Silent Oath (Knights)

13: Honey Milk wa Okonomi de (UNDEAD) vs No name yet (Double Face)

14: Tsubasa Moratorium (ALKALOID) vs Miwaku Geki (Valkyrie)

15: Melting Rouge Soul (Adam) vs Ruby Love (Eve)

16: Valentine Eve’s Nightmare (UNDEAD) vs Trap for You (Eve)